uriopenminds - How special education students affect the learning of regular education students

Chow, P., Blais, L., & Hemingway, J. (1999). An Outsider Looking In: Total Inclusion and The Concept of Equifinality.Education. Retrieved November 14, 2011, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=bbefbda5-0f4f-41e9-8e3b-2f75a9e748aa%40sessionmgr104&vid=1&hid=110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=1871566

This article examined the total inclusion of disabled students into regular education classrooms and positive and negative aspects of the inclusion. More and more disabled students are placed under the care of regular classroom teachers. Regular classroom teachers are taking on more responsibilities and even perhaps more students. To be effective educators, classroom teachers much adjust to the added responsibilities. Educators need to assume new roles, develop new lesson plans, become aware of the philosophy and process of inclusion, knowing the availability of resources and support systems and most importantly, understand the nature of disabled students and harboring positive attitudes toward them.
This article I felt was very informative however it is obvious. When dealing with inclusion in the classroom, teachers obviously know they have to change there plans and become aware of the nature and lifestyle of the disabled student. I thought this article showed some nice insight on special education but maybe should have went into depth some more.

Peltier, Gary L. (1997). The effect of inclusion on non-disabled children: A review of the research. Contemporary Education. Retrieved November 14, 2011, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=1ad94b6f-139a-47e9-84ad-550e0d5b9ad2%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=9710290828

This article discusses the inclusion of disabled students into regular classrooms in the United States and the effect this will have on regular education students. This article also states the views of individuals who support and oppose this process and discusses the question whether the presence of disabled children will inhibit the learning of their classmates along with the effects on the social growth of students. Inclusion is a term meaning "different things to people who wish different things from it." Inclusion involves keeping special education students in regular education classrooms and bringing support services to the child, rather than bringing the child to the support services. In a inclusionary setting, special education teachers work with regular education teachers in classrooms. Colleagues compared the progress of matched groups of non disabled children in inclusive and noninclusive classrooms on measures of cognitive, language, and social development and they found no significant difference in developmental outcomes.
I felt this article was very helpful and interesting. This article was in extreme depth about the topic of inclusion. It listed a lot of pro's and con's which are tremendously helpful to readers. This article also talked about studies that were performed which made the text more interesting to read. This article was very useful in the sense that it provided solid research and statistics about inclusion in today's classrooms.

This article is opinion based. The writer argues against full inclusion of all children regardless of their disabilities into regular classrooms. The writer talks about the fear and difficulties for both students and teachers and the concern for the over-gifted learner. This article states that full inclusion is flawed and looked down upon because it restricts, rather than expands, a student's options.
The reason I choose this article is because I do not agree with what the writer is saying. He is on one side while I am on the other. I do believe sometimes that inclusion in classrooms can affect the learning of the regular education students. However, regular education students benefit from this because the teacher explains things clearer and slower. I would know about this first hand because I was a regular student in an inclusion classroom. The teacher did a lot more hand on activities and took her time explaining each subject and topic instead of flying by everything. This ended up benefiting myself and my grades because I understood things better because of the way my teacher was teaching.

This document is an editorial. It talks about presentations on the inclusion policy, which aims to include students with special needs in regular classrooms. This meeting was held at the Virginia State Special Education Advisory Committee in 2001.
This editorial was very interesting because it talks about what people and scholars in other states think about the idea of inclusion. This document was very informative.

Belkin, Lisa. (2004, Sept 12). The Lessons of Classroom 506. NYTimes. Retrieved December 3, 2011, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/12/magazine/12MAINSTREAMING.html

This article is an article from The New York Times magazine. This article talks about a real classroom in Manhattan. Students were doing what they do everyday; coloring, playing with blocks, etc. Thomas, a little boy who suffers with cerebral palsy was just sitting in his wheelchair in amazement watching all the other kids play. Thomas' dad was with him. His dad wants to find a way where his son can fit into a world that often seems to resist him. Regular education students were going up to Thomas showing him blocks, toy cars, stuffed animals, etc. His face seemed to light up. Although the classroom did not have a lot of room for Thomas' wheelchair and he did not have easy access to the cubbies and toys, his dad wanted him to attend this classroom. He said, "Inclusion, once an inclusive classroom is rethought and reconfigured, it will serve clusters of children with special needs, so that impaired and non impaired students can come to see another as peers.
This magazine article touched my heart. This article was very interesting and helpful because it deals with a real life situation. Although this article does make the topic of inclusion seem easier said then done, it goes to show you that inclusion classrooms are beneficial for everyone. For example, Thomas learned things that he never knew before whereas his other peers learned things as well. They did not see him as a distraction of any type which I find heart-warming.